Ramping up

You can watch skateboarding at the Black Pearl skate park any day, but how many times do you get to see it onboard a pirate ship?

On Sunday, 17 October, Fuel TV will air an episode of its high-octane Built to Shred series that was filmed in Cayman this year on the Valhalla ship, at the skate park in Grand Harbour and at the Caybrew brewery in April.

John Stouffer, public relations director at FUEL TV, described what to expect: “In this episode, host Jeff King and his crew weigh anchor and set sail to the Cayman Islands where pro skaters Lizard King, Corey Duffel, Johnny Layton, Mike Peterson, and Chad Bartie, plus BMX pros Dennis Enarson, Gary Young and Aaron Ross shred everything on the island, including a pirate ship. Batten down the hatches – this is going to swashbuckling adventure.”

The premise behind Built to Shred is building ramps for skateboarders and bikers to take on in places one would never expect – like onboard a pirate ship or on the side of a beer delivery truck.

The show, which features top skateboarders and alternative-sport shredders, aired its first show of the season last month.

“We’re excited about the new season …” said Shon Tomlin, FUEL TV’s senior vice president of programming and marketing. “There are a lot of build-it-yourself type shows on television today, but none offer the excitement, action, creativity and entertainment that Built To Shred offers. This season the show features the best surfers, BMX pros, and skateboarders like Tony Hawk, Bucky Lasek, BMXer Mike “Rooftop” Escamilla, and snowboarder Marc Frank Montoya riding what I like to call architecture-meets-anarchy.” Host King said: “I’m so lucky to get to work with some of the biggest names in skateboarding, snowboarding and BMX. We’ve gotten to build some amazing obstacles for guys to ride, like putting a wall ramp over Tony Hawk’s pool and watching him splash down trying to ride it! The session in the abandoned prison was a little creepy, but taking over a pirate ship and making it a skateboard park was probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done.”

King is a veteran skater with more than 15 years’ experience designing and building custom props for the skateboard world. He has been featured in countless skateboarding publications, videos and television segments. And his fame in skateboarding as a ramp builder immortalized him as an animated character in Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground video game.

Douglas Cameron, known as JR, who until recently ran the skate park, was instrumental in bringing the Built to Shred team to Cayman. He has since left Cayman after reaching his seven-year rollover term limit, but said by email that he was sorry he would not be present to watch the show with other skating enthusiasts in Cayman when it airs locally.

The episode, Offshore Banking, will air on Sunday, 17 October at 9.30pm on WestStar channel 138. The show, on Fox Network’s Fuel TV, will also be aired several times during the week. John Mack, manager of the Brick House restaurant and Dog House bar, next door to the skate park, said the show would be aired at TV screens at both venues, with drink specials on offer.